Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Seibersdorf, Vienna, Austria.
Institute of Integrative Biology & The Centre for Genomic Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK.
Parasit Vectors. 2020 Apr 15;13(1):192. doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04066-6.
Prior to a major release campaign of sterile insects, including the sterile insect technique, male mosquitoes must be marked and released (small scale) to determine key parameters including wild population abundance, dispersal and survival. Marking insects has been routinely carried out for over 100 years; however, there is no gold standard regarding the marking of specific disease-transmitting mosquitoes including Anopheles arabiensis, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The research presented offers a novel dusting technique and optimal dust colour and quantities, suitable for small-scale releases, such as mark-release-recapture studies.
We sought to establish a suitable dust colour and quantity for batches of 100 male An. arabiensis, that was visible both by eye and under UV light, long-lasting and did not negatively impact longevity. A set of lower dust weights were selected to conduct longevity experiments with both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus to underpin the optimal dust weight. A further study assessed the potential of marked male An. arabiensis to transfer their mark to undusted males and females.
The longevity of male An. arabiensis marked with various dust colours was not significantly reduced when compared to unmarked controls. Furthermore, the chosen dust quantity (5 mg) did not negatively impact longevity (P = 0.717) and provided a long-lasting mark. Dust transfer was found to occur from marked An. arabiensis males to unmarked males and females when left in close proximity. However, this was only noticeable when examining individuals under a stereomicroscope and thus deemed negligible. Overall, male Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus displayed a greater sensitivity to dusting. Only the lowest dust weight (0.5 mg) did not significantly reduce longevity (P = 0.888) in Ae. aegypti, whilst the lowest two dust weights (0.5 and 0.75 mg) had no significant impact on longevity (P = 0.951 and 0.166, respectively) in Ae. albopictus.
We have devised a fast, inexpensive and simple marking method and provided recommended dust quantities for several major species of disease-causing mosquitoes. The novel technique provides an evenly distributed, long-lasting mark which is non-detrimental. Our results will be useful for future MRR studies, prior to a major release campaign.
在大规模释放无菌昆虫（包括使用无菌昆虫技术）之前，必须对雄性蚊子进行标记和释放（小规模），以确定关键参数，包括野生种群数量、扩散和生存能力。对昆虫进行标记已经有 100 多年的历史了；然而，对于特定的病媒蚊子（包括阿拉伯按蚊、埃及伊蚊和白纹伊蚊）的标记，并没有黄金标准。本研究提供了一种新的撒粉技术和最佳的粉末颜色和数量，适用于小规模释放，如标记-释放-捕获研究。
我们试图为 100 只雄性阿拉伯按蚊建立一种合适的粉末颜色和数量，这种颜色和数量既可以用肉眼观察，也可以在紫外线下观察，而且持久耐用，不会对寿命产生负面影响。选择了一组较低的粉尘重量，用于对埃及伊蚊和白纹伊蚊进行寿命实验，以支持最佳粉尘重量。进一步的研究评估了标记的雄性阿拉伯按蚊将其标记转移到未标记的雄性和雌性身上的潜力。
与未标记的对照相比，用各种粉末颜色标记的雄性阿拉伯按蚊的寿命并没有显著缩短。此外，选择的粉末数量（5 毫克）并没有对寿命产生负面影响（P=0.717），而且提供了持久的标记。当标记的雄性阿拉伯按蚊与未标记的雄性和雌性放在一起时，发现有标记的雄性按蚊会将其标记转移到未标记的雄性和雌性身上。然而，只有在使用立体显微镜检查个体时才会注意到这一点，因此可以忽略不计。总体而言，雄性埃及伊蚊和白纹伊蚊对撒粉更为敏感。只有最低的粉尘重量（0.5 毫克）不会显著降低埃及伊蚊的寿命（P=0.888），而最低的两个粉尘重量（0.5 和 0.75 毫克）对埃及伊蚊的寿命没有显著影响（P=0.951 和 0.166）。
我们设计了一种快速、廉价和简单的标记方法，并为几种主要的致病蚊子提供了推荐的粉尘量。这种新的技术提供了一种均匀分布、持久耐用的标记，而且没有损害。我们的研究结果将有助于在大规模释放之前进行未来的标记-释放-捕获研究。
